Manipulator

ABSTRACT

A manipulator is provided having a wheeled carriage, a peel mounted on the carriage for longitudinal movement relative thereto, jaws associated with the peel for gripping a workpiece, means for positively effecting a high horizontal acceleration of the peel relative to the carriage on release of the workpiece from the press tool of a forging press, and means for effecting continuous movement of the peel in such a manner that the combined motion of the peel and carriage causes a preselected fresh portion of the workpiece to be presented to the press.

United States Patent Kenneth E. Bonesteel; Edward J. Kinkopf, both of Alliance, Ohio [72] Inventors [2]] Appl. No. 45,309 [22] Filed June 11, 1970 [45] Patented Jan. 4, 1972 [73] Assignee The Alliance Machine Company [54] MANlPULATOR 7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 214/147 G, 214/1 BD [51] lnt.Cl B213 13/10 [50] Field of Search 214/147 G, 147 R, 1 BB, 1 BD [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,476,276 11/1969 Stubbs FOREIGN PATENTS 1,084,536 9/1967 Great Britain 214/147 G 1,088,152 10/1967 Great Britain 214/147 G Primary ExaminerGerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-George F. Abraham Attorney-Buell, Blenko & Ziesenheim ABSTRACT: A manipulator is provided having a wheeled carriage, a peel mounted on the carriage for longitudinal movement relative thereto, jaws associated with the peel for gripping a workpiece, means for positively effecting a high horizontal acceleration of the peel relative to the carriage on release of the workpiece from the press tool of a forging press, and means for effecting continuous movement of the peel in such a manner that the combined motion of the peel and carriage causes a preselected fresh portion of the workpiece to be presented to the press.

PATENTED JAN 4 I972 SHEET 1 [IF 5 a e e t 5 Se Rn mo B E. WE h t e n n e K Edward J. Kinkopf PATENTED JAN 4 i972 SHEET 3 UF 5 Fig.4.

PATENTED JAN 41972 SHEET l- UF 5 INVENTORS Kenneth E. Bonesteel Edward J. Kinkopf PATENTEDJAN 4m 3,631,996

SHEET 5 [1F 5 Fig.7.

INVENTORS Kenneth E. Bonesteel 8 Edward J. Kinkopf MANIPULATOR This invention relates to manipulators and more particularly to manipulators as used for handling elongated ingots during the forging thereof.

Manipulators for handling ingots during forging are not new. Many manipulators for this purpose have been proposed in the past and have been to a degree satisfactory. One of the problems faced by all manipulators is the need to provide the high acceleration necessary to move the ingot being forged the required distance between press strokes. One form of manipulator for this purpose is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,455 to Machon which uses concentric springs to provide the load and acceleration of the peel when the ingot is released by the press so as to move the ingot quickly to a new position. Still another form of manipulator is shown in Burrows, U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,601 where the necessary movement is accomplished by intermittent movement of the carriage coupled with hydraulic movement of the peel to cause intermittent compound motion of the peel.

In both of these devices the carriage is intermittently moved and the feed motion is totally dependent on the stored energy in the springs or the force introduced into hydraulic cylinders. Thus each time the work is changed the carriage must be started again, overcoming the inertia of the motionless carriage. In the apparatus of the present invention the carriage is designed for constant motion and the energy for rapid motion is stored in a hydraulic spring. The peel is suspended on a hoist cylinder including an air hydraulic spring integral therewith so that the peel can depress in the downward motion of the press and spring back to reinstate the work to the original level in the upward motion of the press. This permits the work to be fed horizontally to the new position in the press by the hydraulic spring load on the peel.

Preferably the manipulator of this invention comprises a wheeled carriage adapted for movement along spaced parallel rails extending to a press, and a hydraulically driven cog gear mounted on each side of the carriage engaging a fixed chain or a pin rack. The peel is rotated, preferably by a hydraulic motor having a relief against instant back pressure and a hydraulic brake to lock rotation and prevent drift. The peel is mounted front and rear to allow slewing and horizontal shifting as well as the forward and backward motion previously mentioned. This is accomplished by using a hydraulic spring cushion as the sole tie between the main carriage frame and the horizontal movement of the peel.

We provide a method of forging in a forging press employing a manipulator having a wheeled carriage carrying a peel and jaws mounted thereon for gripping a workpiece to be forged comprising effecting a high acceleration of the peel relative to the carriage with simultaneous leveling of the workpiece to an original starting level on release of the workpiece from the press tool of a forging press and simultaneous continuous movement of said carriage separate from the move ment of the peel causing a fresh portion of the workpiece to be presented to the press tool of the press.

In the foregoing general description we have set out certain purposes, objects and advantages of our invention. Other purposes, objects and advantages will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevation viewed from the right of FIG. 1 showing thejaws on the peel;

FIG. 4 is a rear end elevation viewed from the left of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the vertical movements of the peel;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the horizontal movement of the peel; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the tilting motion of the peel.

manipulator according to our partly cut away of the manipulator Referring to the drawings there is illustrated a carriage 10 on wheels 11 which run on trackway 12. A peel 13 is mounted in carriage 10 and is capable of rotational movement about its axis, longitudinal movement relative to the carriage, vertical and tilting movement as well as horizontal slewing relative to the carriage.

The carriage 10 is moved forward and backward on trackway 12 by means of hydraulic motors 14 acting on sprocket 15 which engages chain 16 fixed at its two ends at spaced-apart points in a trough 17 between the rails of trackway 12.

The peel 13 is suspended on two pairs of parallel vertical links 18 and 19. Links 18 are pivoted to the front end of the peel carrier at their lower ends on a shaft 20. The upper ends of links 18 are pivoted in a clevis 22 rotatably mounted on the ends of a pair of generally horizontal links 23, the other ends of which are pivoted on a shaft 24 on the top of A-frame 25 which forms a part of carriage 10. A second pair of generally horizontal links 26 of substantially the same length as links 23 extend parallel to links 23 from shaft 20 of the peel carrier to stub shaft 26a on the rear of peel carrier 21. The other vertical links 19 are pivoted at their bottom end on stub shafts 27 on the bottom rear of the peel carrier 21 and at their top in a clevis 28 on one end of generally horizontal links 29. The other ends of links 29 are pivotally connected to links 18 adjacent their connection with shaft 22 in links 23. A diagonal hydraulic cylinder 30 connects the bottom of link 18 with a clevis 2811 on link 29. A lift cylinder 31 is mounted in a clevis 32 on each side of carriage 10. The piston 33 of each cylinder 31 is pivoted to a shaft 34 on link 23 adjacent shaft 22. Cylinders 31 raise and lower link 23 and with it peel carrier 21 and peel 13. Cylinder 31 is provided with an air cushion portion 35 which permits the peel to lower automatically as the press forms the workpiece held in tongs or jaws 36 on the front end of peel 13 and to automatically spring back to its original position when the press releases so that the workpiece is immediately at the proper level for advancement into the press.

The peel carrier is slidably mounted along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the peel on a peel guide 37 of rectangular section by means of rectangular guide slot 38 through which guide 37 extends from a vertical guide frame 39 on one side of carriage 10 to a like vertical guide frame on the opposite side of the carriage. A hydraulic cylinder 40 is fixed at one end to the peel guide 37 and its piston 41 is fixed to the peel carrier 21. This cylinder permits the peel 13 and the carrier 21 to remain stationary with a workpiece in the press while the carriage continues to move toward the press so that when the press releases the workpiece cylinders 40 will immediately and automatically advance the peel l3 and peel carrier 21 and amount equal to the amount of compression. This is accomplished by collecting the fluid from cylinder 40 in an accumulator of conventional form under pressure. The peel 13 is connected at its rear end to a hydraulic motor 41 which rotates the peel in peel housing 43 and thereby the work carried in the tongs 36. A peel-centering cylinder 44 is mounted on the peel housing 42 at each end of the peel carrier 21 with pistons 44a extending from each side to the carrier 21. These cylinders permit the peel to slew sidewise in the carrier but always return the peel to its centered position when the slewing load is relieved.

The various positions of the peel and peel carrier and the carrying links are shown in FIGS. 5 through 7. These positions are believed to be obvious from the drawings and no detailed explanation is believed necessary. It will be seen from the drawings that the flexibility of the manipulator of this invention is very great and that the peel can take virtually any position necessary to handle an ingot for forging.

While we have illustrated a present preferred embodiment of our invention in the foregoing specification it will be understood that this invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a manipulator having a wheeled carriage, a peel mounted on the carriage for longitudinal movement relative thereto, jaws associated with the peel for gripping a workpiece, means for positively effecting a high horizontal acceleration of the peel relative to the carriage on release of the workpiece from the press tool of a forging press, and means for effecting continuous movement of the carriage separate from the movement of the peel in such a manner that the combined motion of the peel and carriage causes a preselected fresh portion of the workpiece to the presented to the press, the improvement comprising a peel carrier on the carriage having an elongated slot therein in which the peel may slide transversely of its length, a parallelogram linkage supporting said peel in said carriage, means for changing the angular relationship of the parallelogram linkage, guide means on the carriage engaging and vertically guiding the peel carrier and permitting longitudinal movement of the peel and peel carrier along the longitudinal axis of the peel, for vertically guiding the same, suspension means on the carriage supporting the parallelogram linkage, said suspension means including a compressible fluid resilient member, peel-centering means on the peel carrier normally centering the peel in the carrier, and constant pressure means on the carriage normally maintaining the peel and peel carrier at the forward end of the carriage.

2. A manipulator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for changing the angular relationship of the parallelogram linkage is a hydraulic cylinder extending diagonally of the parallelogram linkage.

3. A manipulator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the suspension means on the carriage supporting the parallelogram linkage is composed of upper and lower generally horizontal arms, each arm pivoted at one end to the carriage and at the opposite end to an adjacent corner of the parallelogram linkage and a hydraulic lift cylinder on the carriage engaging the uppermost of said arms.

4. A manipulator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the hydraulic lift cylinder carries an air cylinder at one end which is compressible under the load of a press.

5. A manipulator as claimed in claim I wherein the peelcentering means is a pair of spaced-apart fluid cylinders on the peel carrier.

6. A manipulator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the constant pressure means is a fluid cylinder and accumulator on the carnage.

7. A manipulator as claimed in claim I wherein the parallelogram linkage includes one each side of the peel carrier a pair of vertical links pivoted at one and end to the peel carrier at spaced points and a horizontal link parallel to the peel carrier and connected to the other ends of the vertical links, the peel carrier forming the other link of the parallelogram.

mime STATES PATENT @FMCE CERTEHCATE @i" QREC'llN Patent No. 3,631,996 Dated January 4,, 1972 Inventor(s) Kenneth E Bonesteel, et all It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 67, before "elevation" insert end a Column 2, line 47, "the", second occurrence should read peel line 52, "and" should read an Q Column 3,

line 10, "the", second o c uier nge should read be a Column 4, line 5, after "of" insert an line 20, "one", should read on 7 line 21, delete "and",,

Signed and sealed this 14th day of November 19720 (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents )RM PO-105O (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 9 .5, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: I969 O SGG-SIH. 

1. In a manipulator having a wheeled carriage, a peel mounted on the carriage for longitudinal movement relative thereto, jaws associated with the peel for gripping a workpiece, means for positively effecting a high horizontal acceleration of the peel relative to the carriage on release of the workpiece from the press tool of a forging press, and means for effecting continuous movement of the carriage separate from the movement of the peel in such a manner that the combined motion of the peel and carriage causes a preselected fresh portion of the workpiece to the presented to the press, the improvement comprising a peel carrier on the carriage having an elongated slot therein in which the peel may slide transversely of its length, a parallelogram linkage supporting said peel in said carriage, means for changing the angular relationship of the parallelogram linkage, guide means on the carriage engaging and vertically guiding the peel carrier and permitting longitudinal movement of the peel and peel carrier along the longitudinal axis of the peel, for vertically guiding the same, suspension means on the carriage supporting the parallelogram linkage, said suspension means including a compressible fluid resilient member, peel-centering means on the peel carrier normally centering the peel in the carrier, and constant pressure means on the carriage normally maintaining the peel and peel carrier at the forward end of the carriage.
 2. A manipulator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for changing the angular relationship of the parallelogram linkage is a hydraulic cylinder extending diagonally of the parallelogram linkage.
 3. A manipulator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the suspension means on the carriage supporting the parallelogram linkage is composed of upper and lower generally horizontal arms, each arm pivoted at one end to the carriage and at the opposite end to an adjacent corner of the parallelogram linkage and a hydraulic lift cylinder on the carriage engaging the uppermost of said arms.
 4. A manipulator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the hydraulic lift cylinder carries an air cylinder at one end which is compressible under the load of a press.
 5. A manipulator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the peel-centering means is a pair of spaced-apart fluid cylinders on the peel carrier.
 6. A manipulator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the constant pressure means is a fluid cylinder and accumulator on the carriage.
 7. A manipulator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the parallelogram linkage includes one each side of the peel carrier a pair of vertical links pivoted at one and end to the peel carrier at spaced points and a horizontal link parallel to the peel carrier and connected to the other ends of the Vertical links, the peel carrier forming the other link of the parallelogram. 